Russian forces left behind a large amount of munitions as they retreated following Ukraine’s offensive in the country’s northeast. Now Ukrainian units are asking to use the equipment and replenish their supplies
Ukraine’s offensive in the northeast not only returned territory occupied by Russia at the beginning of the war to the Ukrainians, but also brought a large amount of equipment left behind. A soldier from the New Front in the Kharkiv region told The New York Times that “one unit that participated in the attack took a lot of Russian equipment, including tanks and ammunition, until other units ask to use it to replenish their supplies.”
The captured Russian equipment, which includes Russian armored vehicles captured in the latest attack, is very useful to Ukraine. The vehicles will find their way to the front within weeks, if not days, replacing Ukraine’s worn Soviet-era equipment.
“The Russian forces have abandoned a great deal of equipment,” said Michael Koffman, a senior fellow at CNA, a research institute in Arlington, Washington, adding that “problems with manpower and availability of force only exacerbated the Russians’ woes.” In a briefing with reporters at the Pentagon on Monday, a senior US military officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about Ukraine’s military operations, said some Russian troops had returned home rather than regrouping elsewhere in Ukraine.
Ukraine, a former Soviet republic that used older Soviet weapons, has exhausted most of its ammunition. And it’s hard to learn how to use new weapons systems in the middle of war. But so far Ukraine’s moves have proven successful. More than 800,000 rounds of 155 millimeter artillery shells were sent to Kiev, helping the Ukrainians. The United States alone has committed more than $14.5 billion in military aid since the war began in February.
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense
The Russian booty that fell into the hands of the Ukrainians
Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense